POLICY AGENDA

The 2018/2019 CSSA Board of Directors has identified three key areas that will inform our work of pursuing forward-thinking higher education policies. We will pursue strategies that ensure an affordable, equitable, and holistic educational experience that promotes student success and well-being.

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT KAGIANAS

Since its establishment in 1959, the Cal State Student Association (CSSA) has been a stalwart force in higher education advocacy and student representation at the CSU system, state, and federal level. As a student-led advocacy organization, we are driven by and exist because of the collective needs and interests of more than 480,000 students. Consisting of student leaders from the 23 California State University (CSU) campus, we lead change through our values of educational equity, servant leadership, and exceptional stewardship.

This year, the CSSA Board of Directors has identified three key areas that will inform our work of pursuing forward-thinking higher education policies and strategies. As you will see, ensuring an affordable, equitable, and holistic educational experience that promotes student success and well-being is the priority for our students.

We are mission-driven to elevate the needs of students, and hope to share your ally-ship in doing so.

Priority 1

CSU students face many challenges outside of their academic courses, including food and housing insecurity, a lack of access to mental health resources, and physical dangers within the surrounding areas. While the effects of these issues are widely felt, the burdens are inequitably carried by underrepresented minority (URM) students and those from low-income backgrounds. While 41.6% of CSU students across the system have reported being food insecure and 10.9% reported experiencing homelessness, students who identified as both first-generation and African-American experienced higher rates of these basic needs insecurities, with 65.9% of this population reporting food insecurity and 18% reporting homelessness.[i]

According to the 2016 National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey, students of color and students of non-binary gender within the CSU were most likely to report facing threats to their safety, health, and wellness. African-American students were twice as likely to face physical assault as other students, and non-binary and African-American students were most likely to report that discrimination had impeded their academic performance. Off campus, students also face inequitable challenges to their overall well-being. The NCHA survey found that Asian/Pacific-Islander, Hispanic/Latino, non-binary, and female students felt significantly less comfortable in the campus’ surrounding community than the rest of the student population.[ii]

In the NCHA survey, CSU students reported mental health issues such as hopelessness (50%), exhaustion (80%), depression (36%), and anxiety (57%), with non-binary students and students of color reporting at higher levels than average. Although only 14% of respondents indicated that they had utilized on-campus mental health resources in the past, the fact that 75% of all respondents indicated that they would consider seeking help from a mental health professional in the future demonstrates the desire and need for sufficient mental health services.[iii] Universities must be ready to meet this need with accessible services that reflect the diversity of the campus community.

In order to address inequities in academic success, wellness resources such as mental health counseling, food pantries, and emergency housing services must be expanded to meet the needs of these most vulnerable populations. A 2017 resolution from the CSU Board of Trustees urged increased support for undocumented students, including expanded mental health resources.[iv] And according to a 2018 report from the office of the California State Assembly Speaker Rendon, there is low awareness of helpful programs such as CalFresh, emergency housing, and food pantries on CSU campuses.[v] Across all campuses, more than half of students reported being unaware of a food pantry on their campus and 71% were unaware of emergency services for students experiencing housing insecurity.[vi] Students in need of such resources often have lives that do not fit within regular business hours and may struggle to access resources at all due to non-academic responsibilities and conflicts such as off-campus work, family obligations, long commutes, lack of information and community knowledge of resource availability, and fear of the social stigma associated with these struggles.

[ii] Nazmi, A. (2016). The California State University Student Health, Wellness, and Safety Report: Results from the 2016 Systemwide National College Health Assessment. A report prepared for the CSU Chancellor’s Office.

[iii] Nazmi, A. (2016). The California State University Student Health, Wellness, and Safety Report: Results from the 2016 Systemwide National College Health Assessment. A report prepared for the CSU Chancellor’s Office.

[v]College Ready, Hungry, and Homeless: An Overview of Basic Needs Insecurity in California’s Public Higher Education System. (2018). A report prepared by the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Research and Floor Analysis.

[vi]College Ready, Hungry, and Homeless: An Overview of Basic Needs Insecurity in California’s Public Higher Education System. (2018). A report prepared by the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Research and Floor Analysis.

Priority 2

Ensure that the CSU is accessible, affordable, and sustainable.

The California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 outlined the unique role of the CSU, which included providing access to the top 33.3% of high school graduates.[i] Since 2000, the CSU system has grown undergraduate enrollment from approximately 292,000 to almost 430,000 to meet the increasing demands for a CSU education from high school graduates who meet eligibility requirements.[ii] Despite that dramatic growth, the CSU has not been able to keep pace with the growing demand as more high school graduates have become eligible for admission (41%) than the Master Plan allotted (33%). The limited capacity for the CSU to accommodate the additional students is demonstrated by the number of eligible California students who have been denied admission in recent years. The data also suggests that certain groups may be disproportionately affected, with the African-American student population declining from 6.1% (or 22,167 students) of the total undergraduate student body across the system in 2008 to only 4.1% (or 17,607) in 2017–this in spite of the percentage of African-American high school graduates eligible for CSU admissions increasing over the same period.[iii]

For the students who do gain access to the CSU, many of them encounter hurdles to affording the total costs that come with pursuing a college degree. Although the Master Plan also prioritized the affordability of public higher education in California, currently too many CSU graduates are leaving with significant student loan debt–the majority of whom are from annual family incomes of less than $27,000 and are not paying tuition.[iv] Those students on average are still leaving with nearly the same amount of debt as students whose tuition is not covered, showing that the affordability challenges facing low-income students are not adequately being met. Rising non-tuition costs have proven to be detrimental for college affordability, shown by the 44% increase in California’s median rent since 2006 compared to the 8% increase in Cal Grant B, which is intended to help low-income students cover non-tuition costs like food, transportation, books, and housing.[v]

The success of CSU students is tied to the sustainability of the CSU system–both financially and environmentally. State funding and the state budget process itself have created a number of challenges for the CSU system that ultimately impact the success of CSU students. It certainly is a major concern that as both enrollment at the CSU has increased and the cost to educate CSU students has increased, the state’s share of covering that total cost has decreased[vi]–forcing students to cover the difference by way of tuition increases. It is just as problematic that the unpredictability of the state budget requires the CSU system and its students to expend resources every year trying convince the state that the CSU is a unique and valuable resource to our state and the nation. Not only does a lack of state investment directly impact students, but it also creates challenges to the system improving campus facilities and positioning the CSU to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

It’s important that policies and procedures continue to address the needs of California students desirous of accessing an affordable and sustainable CSU education, not only to provide individual opportunities for personal growth and social mobility, but to also meet California’s need for college-educated residents in the not-so-distant future.[vii]

Priority 3

Ensure the academic success and holistic educational experience of all CSU students.

All CSU students deserve equal access to a university experience that holistically prepares them for success in their academic pursuits and in the workforce. This preparation should certainly support students to a timely graduation based on their academic aspirations, but must also be reflective of the rich cultures represented in the CSU student body and supportive of their intellectual, emotional, and social development. The Academic Senate of the CSU (ASCSU) captured this balance in their 2018 white paper, which emphasized the variety of institutional factors that contribute to student success, including the faculty-student relationship, engagement in educationally purposeful activities in and out of the classroom, and other extracurricular support services like counseling and psychological services.[i]

To be sure, students should not face barriers to graduation and one-size-fits-all standards are not the best way to determine their success. Although graduation rates are only one of many measures of success, they are informative and offer insight into ways in which campuses and the system at-large may be producing inequitable outcomes for students. For example, graduation rates are increasing for most student populations, but the gap between lower graduation rates for underrepresented minority (URM) students (as well as Pell grant recipients) and the higher rates for their peers has persisted since the implementation of the Graduation Initiative 2025.[ii] When looking deeper into the data, there is evidence to suggest that certain campuses, colleges within those campuses, and degree programs within those colleges are contributing disproportionately to the inequities in graduation rates.[iii]

The equity gaps related to degree completion do not imply that academic programs are exclusively responsible for ensuring the success of students. Truly, the entire campus contributes to student success, which is why it is just as important that the out-of-classroom experience–which include student leadership opportunities, academic advising, career preparation, and so much more–create an inclusive and safe learning environment, especially for the most vulnerable student populations. Furthermore, as with any major policy changes, such as those the Graduation Initiative 2025 may initiate, it is critical to pay close attention to potential unintended consequences that veer from the true goal of the policy change–which should be to ensure opportunity gaps are closed for underserved and underrepresented students so that all CSU students can achieve to their full potential.

STRATEGIC PLAN

The purpose of Strategic Plan 2018 is to pursue the mission of improving the lives of CSU students by advocating for student needs and engaging students in systemwide, state, and federal higher education policy making, while being guided by values that compel us to lead compassionately, responsibly, and transparently.

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Greetings,

Thank you for taking interest in the Cal State Student Association (CSSA)–the nonpartisan, nonprofit association that serves as the single recognized voice of the over 480,000 California State University (CSU) students. It is my pleasure to present CSSA’s Strategic Plan 2018: Educate. Empower. Influence. This document represents years of hard work and the collective efforts of student leaders and professional staff to produce a vision for the organization that will guide the strategic activities of the organization for years to come in serving California State University (CSU) students.

The political landscape of higher education is constantly evolving, often producing significant changes in policy that directly impact the CSU student experience. Additionally, the composition of the CSSA Board of Directors is also constantly evolving with the ebbs and flows of student leadership at the campus level. As a result, a strategic plan that provides strong, broad direction for the future with the flexibility for the CSSA Board of Directors to adapt to the unpredictable changes in CSU system policy and public higher education policy from year-to-year is critical to CSSA being able to fulfill its mission to improve the lives of CSU students.

The ultimate purpose of Strategic Plan 2018 is to pursue the mission of improving the lives of CSU students by advocating for student needs and engaging students in systemwide, state, and federal higher education policy making, while being guided by values that compel us to lead compassionately, responsibly, and transparently. In the years to come, the organization aspires to Educate by serving as the leading resource on issues affecting CSU students, to Empower by elevating the student voice and providing opportunities for students to take an active role in higher education advocacy, and to Influence by proactively leading policy change in higher education. We believe that by developing and executing strategies that support these aspirations, we will improve the lives of CSU students and do it with empathy and care for the communities we serve and to which we belong.

Cal State Student Association (CSSA)

In 1958, a group of Associated Student Body presidents founded the “Student Presidents Association,” later named the Cal State Student Association. The association was formally recognized by the CSU Board of Trustees in 1963, three years after the formation of the CSU system and two months after the statewide Academic Senate held its very first meeting. While the organization was an integral part of the CSU system from its early inception, CSSA continued to advocate for more representation systemwide and increased involvement in state politics over the next several decades. These efforts resulted in major wins for students, including a lobbyist for the organization’s advocacy, two student trustees on the CSU Board of Trustees, student representation on CSU systemwide committees, and an official report of the CSSA president at the CSU Board of Trustees meetings. These accomplishments have helped establish student representation and advocacy at the highest levels of the CSU system and state government.

As the organization did during its creation, CSSA continues to believe in and rely on the democratic processes of the student governments at each of the 23 CSU campuses to create the CSSA board of directors. The student body on each campus democratically elects their student government leaders, and those leaders are authorized to serve as CSSA board members to officially represent their campus–ensuring that the voice of students from all 23 campuses are present in CSSA board decisions.

CSSA has continued to represent students through the channels previously set up by our predecessors and has been able to expand upon those efforts and develop new opportunities for student involvement and representation over the past several years. CSSA transitioned its financial model from a dues-paying system, where individual Associated Students organizations paid dues based on the number of students on their campus, to the implementation of the Student Involvement and Representation Fee (SIRF)– an optional $2 fee assessed to each CSU student twice a year. This transition in funding created financial stability and has allowed for an increase in student programing, staff support, and student representation and advocacy across the state and nation.

With a new decade approaching, CSSA recognizes the tremendous amount of effort student leaders and professional staff will need to take in order to build upon the solid foundation our predecessors established. It is through the implementation of this strategic plan that CSSA will strive to ensure that our successors inherit an organization that continues to possess the capacity to create positive change in the lives of CSU students.

Organizational Structure

Systemwide & Legislative Affairs
Internal CSU system policies, and state and federal public policies often determine how inclusive, accessible, and affordable an education is for CSU students. As a result, CSSA proactively pursues student-centered policy solutions, and promotes student participation in important higher education policy- and decision-making processes.

Internal Affairs
Board of Directors. Twenty-three student leaders, democratically elected by each campus’ student body, comprise the CSSA Board of Directors–which is the body responsible for establishing the organization’s policy priorities, ensuring prudent use of all assets, and aligning the activities of the organization with the mission.

Professional Staff. A team of full-time staff manage the day-to-day operations of the organization. In tandem with the elected student officers, professional staff serve as content experts, execute the collective vision of the board, and ensure that the use of CSSA’s human and financial resources promote efficiency and effectiveness.

The Cal State Student Association will elevate and strengthen the student voice in higher education policy discussions, and provide opportunities for students to take an active role in higher education advocacy.

The Cal State Student Association will pursue its mission and achieve its aspiration to EMPOWER by pursuing the following strategic goals:

Identify and secure opportunities for students to contribute to influential higher education policy bodies.

Strategically partner with stakeholders in order to broaden the organization’s reach and amplify the student voice.

Promote inclusion by highlighting the important role of diversity and the unique experiences of students from different backgrounds.

Ensure that CSSA student leaders possess the support, knowledge, skills, and confidence to effectively execute the business of the board, and are equipped with the tools to engage students on their local campuses in CSSA’s efforts.